Ways of Comfort
by MagneticNoodle
Summary: "I'm not a murderer, am I? Answer me." "I would, my love, but I don't want to make you cry again. Nor do I want to lie to you."


_This was just so much fun to write. It's just an idea that popped into my head that I wrote down, so I'm sorry if it's not very descriptive or anything :3 I love stories like these. THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OF THEM D I hope you guys like the ending, and reviews are always appreciated, good or bad :3_

_Disclaimer: Generic I-don't-own-this-series-or-anyone-in-it blah blah blah :3_

Tsuna's hands were shaking. His eyes were wide and staring ahead, at the mangled, twisted and bloody body before him. He didn't know who this man was. Just a lackey for another boss, he supposed. Tears ran down his face. The man didn't close his eyes, and it seemed like he was staring straight into the depths of Tsuna's soul. Tsuna took a few steps back, horrified, and shook his head furiously, never once tearing his disgusted gaze from the man in front of him. The man never closed his eyes, and the futile staring competition Tsuna seemed to be having went on.

Everything had happened so fast. One second this man was charging towards Tsuna with deadly intent, and the next he had become this little pile of insignificant mess at Tsuna's feet.

But now, everything became so indescribably slow for Tsuna. He watched as the bullet hole in the centre of man's head began to leak blood, which slowly turned into a slight gush, until Tsuna was standing in a pool of the sticky red liquid.

Seeing this, Tsuna's eyes grew wider and tears dripped from his eyes, disappearing into the pool at his feet. His hands became more unsteady, and he could no longer keep hold of the gun in his hands and let it fall to the floor. He retched, leaning over and spilling his guts onto the floor below him. The stench of blood and sick on the floor made Tsuna feel woozy, and he was faintly aware of movement behind him, but couldn't hear over the roar of deadly silence in his ears.

He suddenly felt exhausted, and he himself wasn't surprised considering what had just happened. He felt himself slowly falling backwards, uncontrollably, and was out cold before he could be aware of the strong arms that caught him around his waist or the hand stroking his hair, or even the sweet words that were whispered lovingly in his ears, just before he was taken away.

Tsuna woke up in his bed a while afterwards, his head was pounding and he found that he was crying again. He'd had no idea what he had dreamed, all he could remember that it was so vivid and filled with the colour red. Tsuna could only guess that he was dreaming of the… event that had happened. When he thought of what happened, the pounding in his head got worse. Clutching at his sore head and wiping at his eyes, he looked left and right, noticing that his curtains were wide open and daylight was pouring into the room, so bright that he had to squint against it. Deciding that fresh air may be good for his aching head, he forced himself to stand and walk towards the window. He found that he was only wearing a pair of fresh boxers, and began to wonder how he'd gotten back to his room. He looked back to his bed for answers, and found another sleeping body in there, blue hair poking out from under the sheets. Tsuna smiled slightly without actual happiness, glad that Mukuro was there with him, and turned back to the window.

As he undid the latch on the window and opened it wide, he looked out, down to the ground.

What he say there made his eyes water with tears all over again. As they spilled from his eyes, he let out the most shrill scream anyone had ever heard him utter.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The man from the last night, the one who had been murdered, was staring right at him, in the same pool of blood, with the same emotionless expression, his eyes glassed over and staring right up at Tsuna.

He couldn't stop screaming. Whether it was from the vision, or the feeling that his brain was shattering into a million grief-stricken, painful pieces, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was screaming, and that he was very, very scared.

His hands flew up to his head and he grabbed tufts of his hair and pulled on them slightly, trying so hard to rid himself of the headache, to no avail. His knees caved in, and he crumpled into a ball on the floor, his feral screams eventually turning into loud sobs that wracked his entire body, as the tears continued to fall and his head felt as if it were splitting in half.

Only then did he feel arms wrap around him from behind, and lift him up, taking him somewhere. He barely noticed when he was put down on the bed, still crying and clutching himself pathetically.

Mukuro stroked his hair back from his face gently, and leaned down to kiss Tsuna's forehead, not saying a word and allowing Tsuna to cry to himself.

They both lost track of how long they lay there, with Mukuro reassuring Tsuna with gentle touches, and Tsuna shivering and whimpering. But eventually, once Tsuna had begun to calm down, Mukuro finally spoke.

He wiped a tear streak that hadn't dried yet from Tsuna's face, and caressed his cheek.

"I'll go and get you a washcloth." He said, while starting to stand up.

Tsuna panicked, and quickly grabbed hold of his arm.

"N-no," He pleaded, his voice layered with the horrible mucus-like sound that came with crying. His voice was also hoarse from the overuse it had received. "Don't leave me. He might come back."

"It's not real, you know." Mukuro replied tenderly.

"Don't leave me."

Mukuro then nodded silently, shifting back on the bed and taking Tsuna into his arms, resting his precious little head on his chest.

"It really happened, didn't it?" Tsuna asked mournfully, to which he received no reply.

"I'm not a murderer, am I?" He tried again, looking up at Mukuro with round chocolate eyes that were begging for an answer. "Answer me."

"I would, my love, but I don't want to make you cry again. Nor do I want to lie to you."

After a short while, Tsuna whimpered something incomprehensible, and Mukuro asked him what he had said, and was shocked by his reply.

"I feel cold." He stopped Mukuro from putting a sheet over his small frame.

"No, not cold like that. It's my blood… That feels cold. I'm nothing but a murderer," He looked up at his lover with big, pleading eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mukuro. I never wanted to be like the other bosses. Please don't hate me. Please. I didn't mean to," Tsuna's voice had begun to border on hysteria, and Mukuro clutched him tighter to his own body, as a protective reflex. "I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't-"

By this point Tsuna was beginning to curl in on himself again, with the headache threatening to sprout once more. Quickly, Mukuro grabbed Tsuna's chin, forcing him to look up into his eyes. He saw just how disoriented Tsuna had become, and with a slight panicking sensation in his gut, he slapped Tsuna on the face lightly, to try and snap him out of his thoughts. Tsuna instantly came back to reality and looked into his lover's beautiful heterochromic eyes. There was no real trace of emotion there, not one that Tsuna could place anyway, so he wasn't able to discern what Mukuro was feeling, so he asked again.

"Do you hate me?"

Mukuro looked at him for a split second and then grunted a simple no.

Tsuna buried his face in Mukuro's chest, not entirely sure that he believed him but willing to accept whatever Mukuro gave him.

"… I love you." He began to play with the shirt Mukuro was wearing. He'd always found it kind of adorable that through all of the man's bravado, he didn't like sleeping naked. He would never tell Mukuro that, though. Not unless he wanted to sleep in a separate bed to him for at least a week. Which he never, ever did.

When Mukuro slept next to him, he felt protected and adored. He guessed that was something he would be needing a lot of soon.

He loved sleeping next to Mukuro. He loved the man in general, and made it a point to tell him every day, just in case he didn't get to tomorrow. His life was hectic, and unpredictable. Tsuna just wanted to make sure he knew how he felt… Just in case.

Unfortunately, though, Mukuro rarely said it back.

Tsuna waited, and wasn't surprised that he received no reply, apart from the gentle stroking of his hair. He knew that it would be very unwise to try and force a reply from Mukuro, since he didn't want his loving caresses to end, but he did wish that Mukuro would say it as often as he did.

They had been together for seven years, and Mukuro had told Tsuna that he loved him a total of five times. But Tsuna remembered how long it had taken him to get the illusionist to open up to him, and was not about ready to jeopardise that by trying to make him say something he didn't want to.

So, instead, he stared at his lover. He stared at his beautiful lips, which were luscious, albeit a tiny bit chapped. But Tsuna didn't mind that. He stared at his lovely long lashes, gracefully gliding through small fractions of air whenever he blinked. He looked at his nose, and his gorgeously chiselled jaw. His strong, wide neck and the dips over his perfectly shaped collarbones. The man was walking perfection, down to the very last hair of his stunning, yet strangely-coloured hair.

"I love you." Tsuna repeated, whispering, sitting himself up and kissing Mukuro softly on the lips.

Mukuro looked surprised, but kissed back with just as much gentleness. Tsuna was displeased with this and grabbed the back of Mukuro's head, slamming their lips together harder, until eventually they needed to break apart for breath.

He looked at him through lowered lashes and continued to whisper passionately to him.

"Right now, I want you to be harsh with me. I don't deserve your gentleness. Make me feel pain. I want to feel alive."

Mukuro chuckled breathily and, gently as ever, kissed the smaller man's lips again. Knowing that right now, pain and excitement would be his only source of comfort right now, as opposed to the loving kisses and touches that made him feel vulnerable, he decided to tease him.

"Are you sure?" He whispered, smirking and nipping at Tsuna's lips.

Tsuna nodded. "Yes."

Mukuro's smirk became wider.

"But you're so helpless right now. I don't want to… Damage you." There was a dangerous glint in his eye, and he stared at Tsuna so intensely it made him shiver.

The Tsuna said something that Mukuro would never have thought he'd hear coming from his little lover's mouth.

"Maybe I'll go mad… Like you…" He gripped Mukuro's hair tighter and pulled him closer, seeing the surprise on the man's face and seeing the glint in his eye deepen.

"Yes…" He replied, grabbing Tsuna's hip and pushing his fingers down on the skin until Tsuna winced. "I'd like that. Very much."

Tsuna looked him right in the eye.

"Now this is an order. Do it." He looked fearless and already slightly excited, looking dead in Mukuro's eyes and challenging him to make the next move.

Another trademark chuckle, louder and happier than before.

"I love it when you think you're in control."

Mukuro ripped his hand back, taking out some of Tsuna's hairs in the process, pushing him down harshly and leaning over him, ready to completely dominate him.


End file.
